I have never enjoyed the company of wizards, and although I was initially charmed by Harry Potter, it was the world of Hogwarts and owls and Diagon Alley that I enjoyed, and I got more and more bored with him as he became increasingly embroiled with his arch-enemy Voldemort.

There is no way on earth that I would have read A Wizard of Earthsea had it been suggested by anybody else but Cornflower.

I tried, I hope I came to it with an open mind ... but, oh dear, this was a very tedious wizard. At least it was shorter than Lord of the Rings. And, if nothing else, it was interesting to see where JK Rowling has borrowed from Ursula Le Guin ... Hogwarts, I see, wasn't the first school for wizards even if its teachers are rather more fun. And the Wizard's evil nemesis bears more than a passing resemblance to He Who Must Not Be Named.

But I won't be sending a Howler to Cornflower as while I was (unusually for me) in the children's library, next to the Wizard in alphabetical order I found Madeleine L'Engle's SF fantasy book A Wrinkle in Time.

I hadn't come across it as a child and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Mrs Who, Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit (although I'd be fascinated to hear Cornflower's friend Dark Puss's take on the physics!).

So thanks to Cornflower ... in a roundabout way, you've scored another hit!